When I saw the Golden Compass film, and read the books, I didn't think it was anti-religious so much as anti-organized, state-run religious. You know, when the religion is about power and control more than anything else.
But I saw kitchen staff daemons, mostly staying out of the way. (I distinctly remember a goose.) It does make one wonder how, in a crowded environment, one keeps from stepping on or tripping over all the daemons.